N Y B B L E M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R
A Free Ezine about Anything Tech and Everything Else
2009.06.15 Issue No. 212
Just came back from a holiday in Beijing, and if you're into shopping (cheap shopping, that is), Beijing is the place to be. Let's not talk about the fake bags and imitation clothes, or the knockoff watches and counterfeit Sony digicams and Apple iPhones. Tech-wise, we saw something really cool, original and innovative. I'm talking about this wristphone watch. It's kinda chunky, but it works. It's got a small, colour touchscreen display that functions as a soft keypad. Using a supplied stylus, you tap on the screen to make calls or send SMS. With Bluetooth support and supplied Bluetooth earpiece, you can listen to your calls wirelessly. That is, if you don't like using the built-in speaker. The wristphone can even play MP3s and videos. If the internal 1MB is not enough, you can expand the memory using a microSD card. It's even got a video camera (for video calls?).
Ah, the wonders of miniaturization!
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_________WIRELESS POWER HARVESTING_________
Nokia is developing technology that could draw enough power from ambient radio waves to keep a cell-phone handset topped up. According to Markku Rouvala, a researcher from the Nokia Research Centre, in Cambridge, U.K., ambient electromagnetic radiation--emitted from Wi-Fi transmitters, cell-phone antennas, TV masts, and other sources--could be converted into enough electrical current to keep a battery topped up.
His group is working towards a prototype that could harvest up to 50 milliwatts of power--enough to slowly recharge a phone that is switched off. Current prototypes can harvest 3 to 5 milliwatts. The Nokia device works on the same principles as a crystal radio set or radio frequency identification (RFID) tag: by converting electromagnetic waves into an electrical signal. To increase the amount of power that can be harvested and the range at which it works, Nokia is focusing on harvesting many different frequencies (between 500 megahertz and 10 gigahertz) using a wideband receiver.
Nokia is being cagey with the details of the project, but Rouvala is confident of a product within three to four years.
_________GOLD VENDING MACHINES_________
Gold prices from the machines – about 30 per cent higher than market prices for the cheapest product – will be updated every few minutes. Customers using a prototype "Gold to go" machine at Frankfurt Airport had the choice of purchasing a 1g wafer of gold for €30, a 10g bar for €245, or gold coins. A camera on the machine monitors transactions for money laundering controls.
According to GFMS, the London-based precious metals consultancy, interest in gold has risen during the financial crisis. Retail demand reached an estimated 108 tonnes in 2008, up from 36 tonnes in 2007 and 28 tonnes in 2006.
_________APPLE TO PATENT SPECIAL 911 CALLS________
Engineers from Apple have applied for a patent on an "emergency" mode for cell phones that would squeeze every last drop of energy out of the batteries.
The process would do a variety of things. First off, it would disable "non-essential hardware components" and applications on the phone, reduce power to the screen (i.e., it would get darker) and potentially reduce the phone's processor speed. It also would make it harder to disconnect the call and enable "emergency phrase buttons" on the phone. GPS might not be considered non-essential, however, as it could help emergency workers find the caller - quite useful in case the caller, say, breaks his leg hiking in a remote area. Also, if it's an emergency and you can't speak, you can press a button and a pre-determined "emergency phrase" is spoken for you.
The application also indicates there would be a way to prevent an emergency call from being disconnected without confirmation from the caller. Even if the caller hit disconnect, he might have to type in a code or otherwise indicate that he meant to hang up. The disconnection method could be customized, making it as difficult or as simple as the user preferred, even making it depend on what kind of emergency call.
_________MIND-CONTROLLED WHEELCHAIR_________
The BMI was developed at the BSI-Toyota Collaboration Center (BTCC), a 2-year-old research center established by Japan's government research unit RIKEN and Toyota Motor, Toyota Central R&D Labs, and Genesis Research Institute. The BTCC's system uses several sensors placed over the areas of the brain that control motion to measure electrical activity in the region. The electical impulses triggered by the rider thinking of turning or moving the wheelchair are picked up and analyzed by an onboard laptop that passes the commands on to the wheelchair. The system has an emergency stop that can be activated by the user puffing his cheeks.
The BMI adjusts itself over time to the characteristics of each driver's brainwaves. If a person dedicates three hours a day to using the system, the BMI can reach 95% accuracy in a week. Plans are underway to use the technology in a wide-range of applications centered around medicine and nursing care. Researchers are working on increasing the number of commands that can be given to contol different devices.
_________WINDOWS 7 ON THUMB DRIVES?_________
Microsoft is reportedly considering offering Windows 7 on USB thumb drives to allow netbook owners to upgrade their machines. Windows has, until now, only been distributed on DVDs or via download. However, netbooks don't come with optical drives and downloading an operating system is a frankly painful experience.
The Windows 7 ISO weighs in at 2.3GB, which would take several hours to download on an average broadband connection and potentially do serious damage to a customer's broadband data cap. Consequently, the company is exploring alternative means of distributing the OS, including USB flash drives.
Microsoft has designed Windows 7 Starter especially for the netbook market, which doesn't include many of the more demanding features, such as Aero Glass and Media Center.
_________FUEL TANK WITH FEATHERS_________
Engineers from the University of Delaware have discovered a way to store large amounts of hydrogen fuel using carbonized chicken feathers, which could help pave the way to clean, green cars.
Hydrogen is three times the energy content of gasoline on a pound-for-pound basis, but this potent fuel is hard to squeeze into small spaces. Scientists have long known that hydrogen sticks well to carbon surfaces. Research has focused on tiny nanotubes, but they are expensive: a 20-gallon tank of them can cost more than $1 million. Chicken feather fibers are mostly composed of keratin, a natural protein that forms strong, hollow tubes. The breakthrough moment came when researchers heated feathers to 700 degrees, causing a process called carbonization that created billions of tiny pores. They had found an ideal place to pack large amounts of hydrogen. The new feather-based material can be produced at a small fraction of carbon nanotubes' cost. A 20-gallon feather-based tank would be about $100.
Don't expect to see hydrogen cars zipping along for another decade or more -- storage is just one of the problems. Production of hydrogen is another. A number of institutions, including Oregon State University, are looking at ways to convert sunlight to hydrogen.
_________LIKEABLE LINKS_________
Wolfram Alpha
DTXTR
SMS translation tool
mozo
Aussie finance comparison site
Timeline: The Evolution of Life
FAIL Blog
_________QUESTIONABLE QUESTION_________
How do those dead bugs get into closed light fixtures?
_________QUOTABLE QUOTE_________
It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.
~ Frederich Nietzsche
_________TRIVIAL TRIVIA_________
Does recycling steel help?
Every time a ton of steel is recycled, it means 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,000 pounds of coal, and 40 pounds of limestone will not have to be mined from the Earth.
Source: Arcamax Trivia
_________LAUGHABLE LAUGH_________
What happened to the gay magician?
He disappeared with a poof.
That's all for this week. Nybble is and will always be a work in progress. Please do send me your comments and suggestions on how to improve Nybble. Just hit the reply button to you know, reply.
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